Satoru turned toward the voice and saw two men standing nearby. One of them was chubby, which he recognized immediately.
The future ultimate boss of Jump. Eiichiro Oda.
Satoru hadn't expected to run into a familiar face on his very first visit to Jump. What shocked him even more was hearing that One Piece had been rejected.
He never imagined that the famous One Piece would have such a troubled beginning, with its first submission being turned down.
'Are the editors blind? How could they reject a masterpiece like that?'
But then he remembered something else.
'Didn't One Piece start serializing in 1997?'
So what did this mean? Did the editor-in-chief change his mind later… or was he replaced by someone with better judgment?
The thought made Satoru nervous.
If even One Piece struggled at the beginning, then wouldn't Death Note face an even worse situation?
After all, it didn't match Jump's usual slogan at all.
'What will happen to Death Note? Will it end up like One Piece?
It's unconventional… a manga where the protagonist is the villain. That kind of story doesn't seem like something Jump would accept in this era.'
'Can Light Yagami, someone antisocial and almost anti-human, really be accepted by Weekly Shonen Jump?'
Satoru couldn't help but feel conflicted.
Plagiarizing Death Note had never been a safe choice. The story was filled with headache-inducing schemes and relentless plot twists. As a mystery work, it was packed with details, and remembering everything clearly wasn't easy for someone without a perfect memory. He had to rack his brain while drawing.
Copying something simpler, like One-Punch Man, would've been much easier.
But Satoru still chose Death Note. Because it was hard to find any other manga that could compare to it. Not even One-Punch Man.
The manga volume that sold over a million copies in the shortest time was Death Note. Among countless classics, it held an unimaginable record.
Satoru exhaled slowly.
"There's no use getting worked up. All I can do now is wait… and hope the judges aren't blind."
Leaving the building with a heavy heart, Satoru stopped by a bookstore and bought three recommended books. Two of them were Slam Dunk and Video Girl Ai, which he planned to study for storyboarding techniques and different drawing styles.
Next to the shelves were tall bookcases packed with all kinds of titles: comics, mystery novels, and literary masterpieces.
Satoru paid special attention to the manga volumes. He saw works like Detective Conan, Rurouni Kenshin…
These were the stories that had once been the source of his childhood happiness.
And someday… they would become his competition.
Since he had already taken the day off from his waiter job, he went straight home.
After thirty minutes of train rides and walking, he finally entered his rented single-bedroom apartment.
"It's still March 29th. The results won't be announced until April 18th…" Satoru murmured. "I should use this time to draw the first chapter, just in case."
With that thought in mind, he pulled a stool out from under the table and sat down. The cool night breeze drifted in through the window as he opened Japanese Paper Animation Techniques and began reading with great interest.
From time to time, he nodded and took notes.
This continued for several days.
The books grew thinner and thinner, while the used manuscript paper on the floor slowly piled up without him noticing. While enriching himself, Satoru quietly waited for news from Yoshihisa.
On the calendar hanging on the wall, every day had been marked with a bold X.
****
Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department
The meeting room of Weekly Shonen Jump's editorial department gradually filled with people.
Before the Tezuka Award judging officially began, the editor-in-chief, Kazuhiko Torishima, sat at the main seat and smiled at the man beside him.
"Togashi-kun. LEVEL E ended in early February. It's already been three months. Do you have any ideas for a new manga?"
"Hmm…" Yoshihiro Togashi scratched his head, lazily picking at his nails without looking up. "We'll see."
He was a nationally renowned manga artist, one of the creators who defined Jump's platinum era.
A serialization opportunity that others would kill for was nothing more than a bargaining chip to him.
It wasn't Togashi who needed Weekly Jump.
It was Weekly Jump who needed Togashi.
After Yu Yu Hakusho ended, Weekly Shonen Jump's circulation began to decline. The magazine had been stuck in a slump ever since.
Jump desperately hoped Togashi could create another miracle.
Back then, the previous editor-in-chief, Nobuhiko Horie, had visited him repeatedly and promised him a monthly serialization schedule. That was how LEVEL E was born.
The initial success of LEVEL E proved Togashi's genius.
But before the editorial department could celebrate for long, Togashi began acting recklessly again.
With its sophisticated art style, grand worldbuilding, distinctive characters, and fast-paced plot…
LEVEL E was still, at its core, a comedy manga. And comedy had limits.
LEVEL E was Togashi's experiment. He never wanted to become Jump's savior.
As Jump's decline continued, Nobuhiko Horie was reassigned to a smaller magazine as editor-in-chief, which was practically exile.
Even though Togashi was this willful, Torishima still had to smile and hope that he would step forward and draw a passionate manga that could pull Jump out of its slump.
"I see. No rush," Torishima said with the same gentle smile.
His attitude was completely different from the stern, cold demeanor he'd shown near the end of Yu Yu Hakusho.
But Torishima had no choice.
As an editor-in-chief appointed during a crisis, he had to stop the magazine from collapsing. Swallowing his pride and enduring humiliation was nothing compared to losing Jump's future.
At this moment, Torishima's desire to find a new pillar of support was stronger than ever.
But manga artists weren't easy to train. In the end, it came down to talent.
'If only there were new-era versions of Akira Toriyama, Yoshihiro Togashi, and Takehiko Inoue…' Torishima sighed.
"Everyone's here. Let's begin."
Seeing Torishima's expression, Masakazu Katsura couldn't help but speak up.
He was the author of Video Girl Ai, a talented artist recognized early by Torishima. Without him, Katsura might still be unknown even now, so he always felt a deep sense of gratitude.
"Hm." Togashi perked up at the mention of this.
He had once been shortlisted for the Tezuka Award, and Osamu Tezuka himself had personally presented him with the medal while he was still alive.
'Please create works that inspire children's dreams.'
Togashi kept that sentence firmly in his heart. It was practically his motto.
He admired Tezuka, and unusually for someone like him, he even started participating in manga industry events.
"Let me go first," Togashi said as he pulled out a manuscript. "I think this one is very good. It's especially innovative."
The title fell on everyone. "Death Note"